The Master On Mars
by sudipal
Summary: I know it's been done, but here's my version of a crossover between Doctor Who and Life On Mars where Sam Tyler turns out to be the Master.


The Master had finally started to resign himself to his fate. At first, he thought he was dead and his consciousness had been brought to the Computer Matrix, but that had been destroyed in the Time War. Plus, he had way more control over the Matrix than this. 1973 on Earth! Really? This must be what humans call hell. Well, it's not like the Time Lords had never done that before- look at the Doctor. But, no! The Time Lords were gone. All of them, except he and the Doctor.

The Master was used to living in exile, but it was usually under his own terms, his own aliases, his own schemes. The last thing he remembered before waking up here was being shot by Lucy and dying in the Doctor's arms. The Doctor had begged him to regenerate, but he had refused. The Doctor thought he knew him so well- that he would do anything just to keep on living. But in the wake of defeat, the Master needed at least one victory.

He awoke to find himself in 1973. Apparently, everyone thought he was someone named "DI Sam Tyler," just transferred from Hyde. A police officer, how ironic. Well, he decided that if he was going to play the part, he'd do it all the way. He tried to act by the book, even though his fellow officers did everything but. He did not act in his true nature; he had always pretended to be good and noble whenever he assumed a new persona or had to get out of a tricky situation.

And so here he was. Sam Tyler. He had fallen into a routine. He was used to everyone by now. One might even think he was enjoying his fate. But the drums! The drums would not stop! It didn't matter; they all thought he was crazy, anyway.

The only one who seemed to care was Annie. She had been so kind to him, especially when he couldn't take it because the drums were at their worst. She reminded him of Lucy a little bit. Lucy, his wife, the woman who murdered him. Oh, well, murder isn't truly the right word for it. After all, he had psychically forced her into it. Anyone with half a brain could have been able to tell. He knew that Lucy still loved him. And he loved her. Strange, he never thought he could ever find happiness with a woman, especially a human. He always assumed he was destined to die alone. Well, it was still possible to avoid. Lucy and he were separated by thirty five years. That's not so long, not when you're a Time Lord.

The Master kept himself busy with work. Because whenever he was free, his mind would wander to thoughts about his past: Lucy, Gallifrey, his many failed attempts at universal domination by the hands of the Doctor. A few times, he managed to travel to UNIT headquarters. He saw the Doctor in his second regeneration, stranded there just like himself. It made the Master feel a little better to think he was in the same situaion as the Doctor. Miss Grant and the Brigadier were there, too. On one occasion, he even managed to catch a glimpse of his former self, which pleased him greatly. He considered that body his favorite of all his incarnations- such class that one had.

The Master walked through the doors of the pub up to the bartender. "What will you have, mon brave!" greeted Nelson. Despite Nelson's wish-washy therapist commentary, the Master couldn't help but actually like him. "Can I have a scotch?" said the Master as he sat down on the stool. Gene, Ray, Chris, and even Annie were already there. Annie came to sit beside him. They were having a perfectly nice conversation when a tall, thin man wearing a pin-stripe suit and trainers walked in, caught the Master's eye, and exclaimed, "There you are!"

The Master yelped in surprise at the sight of his arch-enemy. "Crap!" he yelled as he jumped up and started to run for the bathrooms where he might have a chance of crawling out the window to freedom.

He caught the Doctor calling for him to wait, but the Master was too frightened. But suddenly, he heard a thump and the Doctor gave a whimper, so the Master stopped and turned around. Gene and Ray had grabbed the Doctor by the arms and had commenced punching him in the gut.

Seeing the Doctor in agony created immense pleasure for the Master, but moments later, he flashed at memories of his youth, when he and the Doctor were best friends, so he told Gene and Ray to release their prisoner.

"Doctor."

"Master," replied the Doctor as he got back to his feet, still wincing from the beating.

"How'd you find me?"

"Well, I had a hard time doing it. I mean, I really thought you were dead. And after my whole speech about how I knew you would never ever kill yourself... Boy, was my face red!"

"What's this nutter talking about?" asked Gene. "Do you two pansies know each other or something?"

"This is the Doctor," the Master sneered. "We're old friends."

"Oh, you're a friend of Sam's!" cried Annie. "I'm Annie. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said as she grabbed the Doctor's hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Annie." He turned to the Master. "Sam? Is that what you're calling yourself now? And a police officer- that's ironic."

"I know," the Master smirked.

"Demoted from Prime Minister to a DI, that must be a huge blow to the ego. And you have such a big one, too."

"As the popular Earth saying goes, Doctor, 'That's the pot calling the kettle black.'"

"Touche."

"What the hell is going on!" Gene interrupted.

"Yes, Doctor. How did you know I was here?"

"Well, as I said, I thought you were dead. After I said goodbye to both Captain Jack and Martha, I was left alone to deal with Lucy. And I can't tell you how stupid I felt when I realized she had been hypnotised into shooting you. I found the ring."

"The bio-data ring, yes," the Master chuckled. "I'm very proud of it. I based it off the Ring of Rassilon. Do you remember the Death Zone, Doctor? You never apologized for accusing me of being behind the whole scheme."

"I had meant to, but Tegan informed me about your pulling the gun on my former regenerations."

"Well, I was upset," admitted the Master. "You just left me there with those Cybermen. Fortunately, brains wasn't a feature they had enhanced."

"Sam, what are you talking about?" Annie said as she grabbed at the Master's arm in a concerned manner. "Doctor, perhaps you should leave Sam alone."

"Not until he finishes his story," the Master demanded.

The Doctor sighed. "As I said, I discovered your ring in Lucy's possession. I managed to get all the information I needed from her and after some digging around, found evidence of your turning up here."

"Very good, Doctor."

"Oh!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you."

"Is this some kind of trick you're about to pull?" the Master asked skeptically.

"No, Really! You'll be very pleased," the Doctor said. "Jack!" he called towards the door. "Bring her in."

A handsome man in WWII attire sauntered in holding onto the forearm a petite blonde with large, round brown eyes. The Master froze. "Lucy..." he finally let out as a whisper.

"Harry!" exclaimed the blonde as she quickly loosened herself from Jack's grip and ran into her husband's arms. They shared a passionate kiss. "I've missed you so much. I didn't know what to do with myself."

"It's okay. I'm here now, and I promise never to leave you again."

"Sam?" interrupted a confused Annie. "Who is this woman?"

The Master turned to face his peers, wrapping his arm around Lucy's waist. "This is Lucy... my wife."

"Wife?!" Gene exclaimed. "Since when do you have a wife? And why did she call you 'Harry'?"

"Because I was going by the name Harold Saxon when we met. Really, I prefer 'the Master', though."

"'Master!?'" Gene yelled in frustration. "Like hell!"

The rest of the gang could only stare quietly in amazement. Annie had a sad expression on her face and looked pensive.

"Harry, darling?" said Lucy.

The Master turned to face his wife. "Yes, my pet?" A broad smile formed across his mouth.

"What do we do now? They've kept me prisoner this whole time. It won't be so unbearable now that we'll be together, but still. It's been quite degrading."

"Don't worry. I'll think of something. You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course," said Lucy.

"You won't escape so easily," interrupted the Doctor.

"So what? Are you just going to keep me like you had originally planned," the Master angrily retorted. "Will I be trapped in your TARDIS, stuck with you for the rest of my days? I don't foresee that working out so well. Our friendship has been long since over, Doctor."

The Doctor sighed in agreement, "Well, I suppose we can work something out. Perhaps you can choose a time and place, and if it suits my approval, I'll drop you off there."

The Master thought for a moment. "Sounds fair. What do you think, Lucy?"

"Just as long as we're together," she answered.

"Back in the 21st century won't work. My face is too recognizable, and I don't plan on regenerating any time soon. I suppose we can just stay here in the '70s..."

"I'm okay with that," the Doctor said. "I can always come and check on you from time to time."

"Well...?" the Master turned to Lucy.

"Okay, dear. I'm willing to try it."

"So it's a deal," the Doctor said. "I'll be back in a month to see how you're holding up. Come on, Jack."

"Can I maybe have some time to sightsee. I kind of have a fondness for the 1970's," said Jack.

"No way. Who knows what you'll do around here, or who you'll do."

The Doctor and Jack were soon gone. A whooshing noise could be heard in the distance. The Master and Lucy were left standing there with Gene, Ray, Chris, and Annie staring at them.

"Do I still have a job?" the Master asked Gene.

"Why wouldn't you?" Gene enigmatically replied. "I need a drink. You're buying."


End file.
